The suite covers pretty much everything you need with a word processor, spreadsheet,
presentation software, equation editor and a drawing program. It opens most
major formats such as MS Office almost flawlessly (Macros aren't converted),
saves to PDF* , has comprehensive help, and
spellchecking in 15 languages. Having said that, let's detail
some of the major features:

The Entire Suite

OpenOffice.org is a powerful yet simple environment for your work. All of
the features in this section are used throughout the suite and help to give
it a unique character.

The ability to import and export many different types of documents and
templates in a huge range of formats from HTML to MS Office XP. You can
work seamlessly with your colleagues, school or friends, no matter what
computer you use. Although we think the OpenOffice.org Open File Formats
are technically superior many people are still locked into other products
so you can set OpenOffice.org to use any other file format by default if
you wish.

Runs natively on almost every modern operating system except Mac OS X.
This port is under development, and a volunteer porting team is working hard
on it. You can give them a hand and get it running quicker by joining the
project: http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/

Import address books from Mozilla/ Netscape 6.x/7 or LDAP. You don't
have to keep on typing in those contact details.

Unicode support allows at least 23 localisations of OpenOffice.org. Not
only will OpenOffice.org run on practically anything but it'll run in practically
any language. There are more being added all the time. Even if yours isn't
there yet we might be able to put you in touch will some fellow speakers to
get the work done in double time. Together we work better.

Vastly enhanced printing capabilities and options over all platforms,
with extras like 'Print to PDF' under UNIX. If you want to see all that
work in hard copy, OpenOffice.org will take care of it for you; or if you
want to go for the 'paperless office' we can create 'digital paper' PDF
files that can be read on practically anything. OpenOffice.org is all about
bringing this sort of sophisticated, expensive functionality to the ordinary
user.

Autopilot guides you through creating complex document, clearly. Do you
know what to do but aren't sure how to do it? Let the autopilot help. It'll
ask you a few simple questions before creating a template for you to use
again and again. Impress everyone with your brilliant skills, but don't
let them know it was the autopilot!

The Stylist allows you to change the entire look of your document instantly.
It's that little box in the corner of the screen and it's an easy way to get
a consistent look and apply formatting throughout your document. Just select
some text, a cell or an object and choose a different option to move simply
and easily between different styles. You can either use the built in defaults
or create your own. And if it gets in your way just press F11 or click the
little button near the top of your screen. You can get it back the same way
or change styles in the box on the left hand side of the font selection.

A native XML file format for small, yet powerful documents. File size
is typically half that of MS Office formats. XML is the computer industry
standard for data exchange. You're buying into the future and your documents
will always be readable, even in a simple text editor.

The powerful OpenOffice.org API allows you to create external functions
to leverage the power of the suite just how you need it. Independent programmers
can use our free software development kit (SDK) to extend the suite in ways
we haven't even thought of. You can use OpenOffice.org Basic or Java and
C/C++. More languages are being worked on at http://api.openoffice.org/.

OpenOffice.org Writer is at the heart of the suite. It's a sophisticated
Word Processing and document layout program with all of the features mentioned
above and a few more of its own.

Form-letter management to send letters to addresses in a database. Automate
chores and make complex things easy, it's the way we've tried to design
OpenOffice.org and we think it shows through here.

Compare changes and work collaboratively using the Versions system. If
you need to work on a document together, but can't be at the same computer
then OpenOffice.org's powerful 'Versioning' will come in handy. It lets
you see what's changed, who's changed it and accept or reject the changes
either individually or with a powerful series of filters. Currently versioning
information doesn't export perfectly to some other formats.

Direct connection with external email software to seamlessly send your
documents worldwide. Cut down on the number of clicks and get your work
into the hands of the people who need it.

AutoCorrect word completion speeds up your writing in a non-obtrusive
and powerful way. As you're typing it makes its best guess at what you mean
to say. You can accept it by pressing enter or just keep on typing to ignore.
If you make a mistake at any time just press Ctrl+Z for a quick and simple
undo. Now I love this but I understand that these AutoCorrect features can
drive some people up the wall. So there's a flexible menu where you can
choose exactly what you want on or off. You won't find AutoCorrect word
completion anywhere else, it's just another optional feature that makes
OpenOffice.org unique.

Indexing functions make moving around inside a document easy. A simple bibliography database makes it easy to store sources for essays.

Sophisticated layout manager, with extensive Desktop Publishing (DTP)
functionality that allows you to display everything you want simply and
clearly.

It's the spreadsheet program you've always wanted. Newcomers find it intuitive
and easy to learn; professional data miners and number crunchers will appreciate
the comprehensive range of advanced functions.

You're also free to pull in data from corporate databases, and cross-tabulate,
summarise, and manipulate with advanced DataPilot technology.

DRAW - from a quick sketch to a complex plan, DRAW gives you the tools
to communicate with graphics and diagrams. It won't organise or edit your
digital photo's as well as other programs but if you need to create a diagram,
picture or illustration then you'll be glad to have it.

FontWork allows you shape stunning 2D and 3D images from text for an
extra effect.

A complete range of Views are supported: Drawing / Outline / Slides
/ Notes / Handouts to meet all the needs of presenters and audiences.

Slide show Animation and Effects bring your presentation to life.

Under UNIX based systems where
spadmin, the printer administration program, uses ghostscript, ps2pdf, etc.
We're working on a new 'create PDF' feature on all the platforms we support,
you can find it in the 'developer' builds today.

This software is OSI Certified Open Source Software. OSI Certified is
a certification mark of the Open Source
Initiative.

Apache and the Apache feather logo are trademarks of The Apache Software Foundation.
OpenOffice, OpenOffice.org and the seagull logo are registered trademarks of The Apache Software Foundation.
Other names appearing on the site may be trademarks of their respective owners.